Transacting business in cyberspace often comprises organizations collecting information about individuals to gain assurance that the individual is actually who they are claiming to be. This can take the form of credit checks, or verification of some subset of data, that can be accomplished using data from typical credit score organizations such as Experian, LexisNexis, and Trans Union, although others exist as well. Other methods of verifying an individual's identity are also used, such as mailing a log-in password or PIN to an address supplied by the individual.
On-line businesses, agencies, etcetera have a growing need to gain satisfactory levels of identity assurance efficiently and in real time while reducing account creation and maintenance costs. Single sign-on capability, whereby a sign-on credential established by one entity is relied upon by other entities, has grown in popularity in response to these cost concerns, but single sign-on alone will often not afford enough identity assurance.
As on-line transactions continue to grow in popularity, individuals are finding that they have multiple passwords for various accounts, and it becomes challenging to not only keep track of the various passwords, but also to manage and recall the personal data that has been shared with various on-line businesses.
The threat of hackers looking to steal personal data also creates an ever-growing need for secure data storage and evolving data security schema.